All,
Please sign on to this letter opposing Representatives Duncan, Young and
Gosar’s amendment to strike the positive Arctic Refuge language in the House Interior Appropriations Bill. The letter text is below and included in the form.
This is an organization-level sign on letter.
Please use this form to sign.
Deadline to sign on
is Friday, June 21 at COB.
If you have any questions, please email me:
mthornton@defenders.org
Current group signers:
Alaska Wilderness League
Defenders of Wildlife
Text of the letter:
*[GROUPS]*
June 21, 2019
RE:
Vote NO on Duncan/Young/Gosar amendment #130 to H.R. 3055 to weaken protections for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Dear Representative:
On behalf of our millions of members and
supporters nationwide, we urge you to oppose an amendment offered by Representatives Duncan, Young and
Gosar to the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies omnibus appropriations bill (#130 to Division C of H.R. 3055), which would strike a provision aimed at ensuring that the oil and gas lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge generate the expected revenue as promised in the 2017 Tax Act.
In the 2017 Tax Act, Congress mandated new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, despite the overwhelming
opposition of the American people. This law estimated that the oil and gas lease sales will generate $1 billion in federal revenue. The Arctic Refuge provision, which is currently included in the Interior bill, requires the Bureau of Land Management to set
a minimum bid on what companies must pay to lease part of the Arctic Refuge’s fragile Coastal Plain for drilling. This billion-dollar claim was used to sell oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Refuge to Congress even though the average Alaska North Slope bid
since 2000 is just $31 per acre, orders of magnitude below the $2,000+ per acre needed to meet projected revenues. A central part of this provision is to make sure the federal government is looking out for the American taxpayer.
It is a matter of fiscal responsibility for us to require that any lease sale generate the revenue promised in the 2017
Tax Act. The Duncan/Young amendment to strike the Arctic Refuge provision makes no fiscal sense – as this provision holds Congress accountable to the promises it made in 2017, and it ensures that oil and gas lease
sales generate the expected revenue for the American taxpayer and the people of Alaska.
We should not be sacrificing one of our most treasured public lands to the lowest bidder.
The Arctic Refuge is home to polar bears, musk oxen, more than 200
species of birds, and the calving grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd, which has sustained the Gwich’in Nation physically and spiritually for millennia. The Arctic Refuge is one of the world’s last intact wild places, and the Coastal Plain of the Arctic
Refuge is a perfect example of a place that should be off-limits to oil drilling and industrial development.
We
urge you to stand in support of protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and vote NO on Duncan/Young amendment 130 to strike the Arctic Refuge provision.
Melanie
Thornton, Ph.D.
Senior
Government Relations Representative
1130
17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
DIRECT:
202.772.3260
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